[Review] K'Naan - Troubadour

(Definition of 'Troubadour')

The troubadour school or tradition began in the eleventh century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread into Italy, Spain, and even Greece. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal, and that of the trouvères in northern France. Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita: rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction. After a "classical" period around the turn of the thirteenth century and a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the fourteenth century and eventually died out around the time of the Black Death (1348).




Troubadour is the sophomore release from Somalian/Canadian rapper, poet and musician K'Naan. Melodic, socially conscious rhymes, creates a nice dialogue of comparison between contemporary USA culture and that of his old home Africa. If you are looking for lyrics about swagger, or pseudo gangster fairytales, look elsewhere! K'Naan keeps it as 'real as it gets' (forgive the cliche!!) Raps of Inner city American street tales will appear tame after listening to the drama that goes down in the 'mother-land'. Instrumentation is unlike your average 'rap' album with quasi-techno beats, instead live instrumentation forms the basis on this release. You will like K'Naan if you are also a fan of 'rappers' like K-OS (who is also from Canada) and to a lesser extent Mos Def.

4.5/5